Allais shooting case heads to grand jury

HAZARD – An indictment could be issued against a Hazard man accused of firing a shotgun inside a residence near several other people, most of whom were children.

Patrolman Billy Caudill with the Hazard Police Department testified during the preliminary hearing of 35-year-old Jimmy Sizemore on Tuesday, relaying the events of June 4 when Sizemore was alleged to have assaulted his wife before threatening to kill himself, eventually discharging a 20-gauge shotgun inside his home in the Allais section of Hazard.

Police were originally called to the scene following a complaint that Sizemore was threatening suicide when a second call was made to HPD reporting that he had discharged a firearm, shooting through the roof of his mobile home at 39 Walker Branch Road.

The nearby technical campus of Hazard Community and Technical College was placed on lock down, and several agencies responded to begin a search for Sizemore, who had fled the scene, Caudill testified. Though authorities could not locate Sizemore that evening, Caudill said he was taken into custody the following day during a traffic stop near his residence.

Sizemore was charged with six counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, which Caudill said was a result of six people, including Sizemore’s five children, being inside the home as he discharged the shotgun. He was also charged with fourth-degree assault for allegedly head-butting his wife.

Caudill said Sizemore was apparently highly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Judge Leigh Anne Stephens sent the case to the grand jury for consideration of an indictment, after which Sizemore addressed the court himself, noting he does not remember the incident and only knows what happened based on what his wife told him.

“I have no recollection of what happened that night,” he said.

If an indictment is returned, Sizemore’s case will move to Perry Circuit Court.